7 Days of IR: 550nm (6/7)

For these IR photos, I'm using a 550nm filter. This is the smallest filter that I have, and it allows in the most color. I've been excited to use this one! Unlike the 850nm filter which only photographs in black and white, 550 takes remarkably colorful images. The 590nm, known as "Ultracolor" was previously the most colorful infrared formula, but Kolari's new 550 "hypercolor" allows an even fuller spectrum of light onto the sensor.

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Photos taken on Kolari Pocket with 550nm hypercolor filter in Arlington, Texas.

At first, I didn't have the white balance set properly. That's one of the most important steps to taking good infrared photos, and one of the biggest things that can ruin an IR photoshoot. While this picture looks interesting, you can see how the whole thing has a pink cast which wasn't exactly what it was supposed to look like.

The photos originally developed with baby-blue foliage and orange skies, but after channel-swapping the red and blue in an editing app, the hypercolor images developed into their iconic cotton candy pink trees and blue skies.

I love the way the hypercolor filter makes every tree look like a Japanese sakura tree!

A green field turns brilliant pink! This filter does take a little editing in a photo app, but the results are worth it. Out of camera images look weird, and the original channel swap gives an ugly green sky. With a slight white balance and tint adjustment, though, the results are extraordinary!

It looks like something out the world of Dr. Seuss!

This might be my favorite photo of the set! I love the framing of the sky with the hanging branches and trees in the distance. Infrared photos do turn out a bit grainy, which I actually like as well. It gives it a sort of vintage look.

The horses were out at the park that morning! I found that this filter doesn't work too well on people and animals, but the results are interesting anyway.

The human and animal subjects turned out a bit too pink.

This filter really emphasizes the plants and the sky. Manmade structures do look a little too pink as well, but I would be interested in trying to use this filter at a Thai palace or temple to see how it turns out. Come to think of it, the Miami-like colors might look good at the beach!

Even a fairly boring subject, like this basketball court, can look weird and interesting! That's the big draw of IR for me: making even normal, everyday scenes look weird and imaginary.

I am really happy with these results, but would love to try with other subjects. I think that this filter would look great in Bangkok with some more urban scenery. I'll definitely do another 7 Days of IR project sometime soon!

7 Days of IR: IR Chrome (5/7)

This set of photos uses the fantastic IR Chrome filter, which was designed to provide a digital recreation of the classic Aerochrome infrared film developed by the US government. Basically, this unique infrared filter is able to reflect off of leaves and grass in a way that makes it stand out a stunning red. Pretty cool! This is one of my favorite filters, and one I was most excited about using in this project. The nicest thing about it is that there's no need for editing or channel swapping - IR Chrome makes the photos like this right out of the camera.

(Read more about Aerochrome HERE: https://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/01/30/what-is-kodak-aerochrome-a-beginners-guide-to-the-confusion-of-lomochrome-purple/)

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Photos taken on Kolari Pocket with IR Chrome filter at Veterans Park in Arlington, TX.

The IR Chrome filter turns grass and foliage red, which makes things like the white pillars of Arlington's veteran's memorial stand out.

IR Chrome looks best when there's lots of plants, some sky, and some other element which can add wonderful contrast to the colors.

The most interesting thing about IR Chrome is that while all foliage and plants are shifted to stunning reds, other colors are unaffected.

Even a fairly boring subject can look amazing!

This green summer's day in Texas suddenly looks like a Vermont Autumn.

While greens are shifted to red, other colors like yellow do not change, which creates some interesting color contrast.

The filter gives water an interesting blue-green cast and - characteristic of infrared photos - eliminates nearly all reflection off of the surface.

plants, water, fountain, sky

this duck was unhappy with being photographed

one of my favorite photos due to the rich colors and sharp contrast between plants and water

7 Days of IR: Blue IR (4/7)

I was working on my 7 Days of IR photo project a few weeks ago before the new restrictions shut Bangkok down again. Now that I'm home to visit my family in Texas, it's time to pick right up where I left off! This time, I'm shooting with the Blue IR filter, a special type of infrared filter which allows pure blue light in along with infrared. It's a weird, cool filter that you can do a lot of fun stuff with. You can channel swap the red and blue channels, or knock out the green for odd and cool images.

previous post HERE: https://michaeldesrosiers.blogspot.com/2021/06/7-days-of-ir-720nm-37.html

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This set of infrared photos were taken at the Flying B Ranch in Waxahachie, Texas.

Photos taken on the Kolari Pocket with Blue IR filter.

This is a picture of a cow shot directly out of the camera with the Blue IR filter. You can see that the bright blue sky shows up as a sort of violet, and all the grass is given a pale green tint.

When you remove the green channel, it creates this look with almost Aerochrome-looking pink grass with the sky a bright blue.

When you channel swap red and green, the result is this cool alien-looking 

This is a weird one. The other filters basically gave me one style of IR. With this one, the wide band of color channels allows me to do some weird stuff with the images, and it can be hard to decide what style of image looks the best or most  interesting.

an old tractor sits outside at the ranch

alien pink grass with a blue sky

weird blue grass with a pink sky

I'm really not sure which style I like better. Both can produce cool and weird color effects. Here's the same picture with the red and green channels swapped (left) and with the green channel removed (right). They are both cool, but totally different in tone and feel. Left feels more alien, while right is a bit more natural looking.

     

this looks like something out of a sci-fi video game - an all-terrain vehicle on an alien world

cows in pink grass

shipping containers used to make a runway bridge

cow on a pink hill

hungry cows!

a windmill against a pink sky with cotton candy grass

Waxahachie in pink

Downtown - it's so weird how the windshields turned bright red. Something to do with the way they reflect infrared light, I suppose.

the old courthouse with sakura-like trees and a bright blue sky

Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin: maybe my new favorite beer

I've recently discovered something so good that I felt it deserved its very own post: Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin, a seasonal beer from the New Belgium Brewing Company.

One of the things that I'm always the most excited about when I visit my family in the US is the abundance of excellent craft and seasonal beers. To be honest, beer in Thailand is extremely boring. I always try to sample the seasonal specialties whenever I'm home.

This year, I visited the US at the end of summer for the first time since I've moved to Thailand. As summer drew to a close, I had the chance to sample the last of the summer beers and the first of the autumn beers. My new favorite just might be one from the latter category: Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin!

This beer is a pumpkin spice beer, but it's different from other seasonal pumpkin spice beers. Keeping up with its sort of edgy theme, Atomic Pumpkin is an ale with cinnamon and habanero peppers, which give it an incredible spicy heat and a bit of a kick! 

I've been enjoying this drink for a few days, and I have to say that I really love it. I'm always open to trying new and strange beers (I tend to be a big fan of the generally unloved sours), but I have a feeling it might be a while before this new king is unseated in my rankings.

For now, Atomic Pumpkin is my #1 seasonal autumn beer!

Kentucky Colonel

I had been away from Texas for nearly two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When I finally got to my parent's house last month, they had a big tub of mail waiting for me. Since I need to keep domicile in Texas, I still "live" at my parent's house even though I don't live in the US anymore, and they just keep all my mail for me. Most of it wasn't that important, but one particular large, official-looking envelope from the Commonwealth of Kentucky caught my eye. Posted all the way from Frankfort, KY was an official commission as a Kentucky Colonel and honorary aide-de-camp to the governor himself!

The Governor of Kentucky has officially commissioned me as a Kentucky Colonel, an honorary position which entitles me to the use of the style "Honorable" and the honorary title of Colonel! According to Wikipedia:

"Kentucky Colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and is the most well-known of a number of honorary colonelcies conferred by United States governors. A Kentucky Colonel Commission is awarded in the name of the Commonwealth by the Governor to individuals with "Honorable" titular style recognition preceding the names of civilians, for noteworthy accomplishments, contributions to civil society, remarkable deeds, or outstanding service to the community, state, or a nation. The Governor of Kentucky bestows the honorable title with a colonelcy commission, by issuance of letters patent under Common Law upon nomination by another Kentucky colonel, or by being recognized with the "Honorable" title directly by the Governor upon the recommendation of another.

A person who is recognized as a Kentucky Colonel or obliged to the idea of using the honorable title styling of 'Col.' is reciprocally acknowledged in being officially known by the state as the goodwill ambassador of Kentucky culture, folklore, traditions and values."

The honorary colonelcy was established in 1793, making it one of the oldest and most recognized civilian awards in the United States. Mine was awarded to me due to my work as an English teacher and "unofficial ambassador of American culture" in Thailand.

My commission comes with an appointment as an aide-de-camp to the Governor of Kentucky, which also entitles me to wear this lapel pin.

I also received this Medal of Distinction from the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels!

2021 Medal of Distinction

While Colonel Sanders may be the best-known Kentucky Colonel, others among the ranks of the historic order include Winston Churchill, Ansel Adams, Muhammad Ali, Princess Anne, John Audubon, Pope Benedict XVI, John Glenn, Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, Bing Crosby, Barry Manilow, and Dolly Parton (among many, many others).

Wat Buddhamahamunee of Arlington

When I was growing up in Arlington, Texas, I would often drive past the Buddhist Meditation Center of Arlington, a local Buddhist temple called Wat Buddhamahamunee. Interestingly, it's a Thai temple! Long before I move to Thailand, had a Thai wife, or had even thought much about Thailand, I had seen this temple as I was driving around my own hometown!

Today, I had the chance to visit the temple for the very first time! My Thai fiancée and I are planning to get married this year. Our plan is to have a Buddhist wedding in the USA and a Christian wedding in Thailand. I know, it sounds kind of backwards. But we want to share our respective cultures with our partner's family and friends. Pinky's friends were really excited about attending a Christian wedding, and I know that my family and friends were really interested in seeing a Thai Buddhist wedding too.

We visited the temple in Arlington to chat with a monk so that we could try to arrange our wedding ceremony sometime in the next month or so!

The Thai temple, or Buddhist meditation center, is built in an old house in Arlington.

We entered the temple, not entirely sure what to expect. We were surprise by just how very Thai it was! It looked exactly like a Thai temple in Thailand, but if it was built inside an old Texas house, which, in fact, it was!

My fiancée even said that visiting the temple felt like home! There were a few American elements of course, like the US flag hanging outside as well as the "money tree" which looked odd to me draped with dollar bills rather than Thai baht notes.

The head monk welcomed us inside, and we stepped into the coziest Buddhist temple I had ever seen! The living room of the house had been converted into a carpeted prayer hall, complete with comfy couches for Americans who aren't used to kneeling for long periods of time. It was quiet. The windows and doors were open to allow the fresh air in, and it was surprisingly cool and comfortable, even without an air-conditioner running.

The monk welcomed us inside, and we stepped into the coziest Buddhist temple I had ever seen! The living room of the house had been converted into a carpeted prayer hall, complete with comfy couches for the poor Americans who aren't used to kneeling for long periods of time. The interesting thing was, it was still totally a Thai temple!

Luang Po, the head monk at the temple, sat us down at one of the sofas to chat with us. He told us he had been a monk in Chiang Mai for a few years before moving to Arlington as a Buddhist missionary in 1996. Since then, he told us, his purpose is to help people find their happiness and discover how to be grateful every day. He was a warm, friendly, jolly man with an easy laugh and a bright smile that even his COVID mask couldn't hide.

We had a nice chat, then the monks had to excuse themselves to go to eat lunch. Monks can eat only one meal per day, which must be eaten before noon. They invited us to explore the temple and relax for a while, which we did. Who would have ever thought there'd be a decent Thai population in Arlington, Texas, but apparently there is, and Wat Buddhamahamunee is not only the center of their religious lives, but also of their social and cultural lives!!